Barcelona d
The Frenchman received the all-clear on Monday after a training session, following his latest injuries, which have seen feature in just one Barcelona fixture so far this season.
Head coach Ernesto Valverde has named the 2018 World Cup-winning centre back in his 18-man squad to face Slavia Prague on Tuesday, as shared on Barcelona’s official website.
Umtiti’s fitness issues in the last year and a half have been cause for much discussion at Barcelona. Once hailed as being among the best defenders in the world, the former Lyon star’s starting place has been lost to countryman Clement Lenglet due to a series of knee problems.
Knee injuries have kept 25-year-old Umtiti out for a combined total of over 150 days since May 2018, while a separate foot issue has seen him sidelined for much of the 2019/20 season so far.
There was even talk that Umtiti could be sold during the summer, with the club sick of his unreliability. Arsenal were touted as one possible suitor, while it was suggested that he might’ve been a makeweight in a potential deal to bring Neymar back from Paris Saint-Germain.
The defender now has a chance to re-establish himself as a Barcelona against Slavia Prague.
The match will take place at an earlier kick-off time of 17:55 GMT, as the Spanish champions are set to take on the Czech league winners for the second time in under a month. The last result saw Barcelona win 2-1 at the Sinobo Stadium.
While attacking stars such as Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele are all named in the 18-man squad, Luis Suárez, who picked up a calf injury in the clash with Levante and will miss the game through injury.
Let’